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Omega #10098 or #49?

Which do you like better?

  • Omega #10098 Professional

  • Omega #49 Professional


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I've read many reviews on both of these Omega brushes and heard amazing things about both of them. I plan to buy one of them, and I'm willing to pay the little extra for the #10098 even if it is only the slightest bit better than the #49. Can you guys help me make a decision, and give reasoning and experiences with each brush, to push me in one direction or the other?
 
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Hi John, welcome to B&B!

I don't own either brush, but according to ShoeBoxShaveShop the dimensions are the same for the knot. Just the handle differs in style and size. Pick the one you think looks best and enjoy. :001_smile
 
If this is your first brush, I would look at something a little smaller. As mentioned, they are similar brushes...but they are huge. Good brushes, don't get me wrong. But I would look at something closer to a 22-24mm knot w 50-55mm loft for your first brush. Personally I have my eye on one of those wooden handles.

Otherwise I agree with Denis...pick your favorite handle and go with it.
 
Well, I did a lot of research, before I bought my first brush, and decided to dish out for a shavemac #177 24mm knot. Now I'm just looking to expand on the brushes I already have. I've heard this brush is good, and just wanted an opinion.
 
I use the 10098, and I love it. The handle is nice and long, very traditional barber shop type. It whips up some mean lather, particularly with Italian soft soaps and hard soaps. The plastic handle is kind of a turn off, but it does look better in person (I have two, one had a rather unsightly seam so I sanded it down and polished, I haven't used the other.) Once you get through breaking it in, and perhaps de-funking it (one came in very stinky, the unused one naturally has no odor!) it is a great brush for the price. For the price, the Vie-Long Professional horse hair is the only brush that can compete with it IMHO.
 
Living in a fairly damp environment, I rotate my boar brushes so's they dry out completely between uses...
Given the price, I'd get both. BTW, my Pro 49 is one of my very favorite brushes.
 
I use almost exclusively now the 10098 for the last almost three years - it is an awesome brush for me. I'm still on the first one and it has shed maybe 10 hairs in that time and still holds the same bloom it had when a youth! I tend to use hard pucks now mostly and that is what the Omega Pro Boar (10098) excels at. I couldn't live without it!!! (I have bought extras to keep on hand for the years to come just in case it gets discontinued) I tend to use badgers for creams, but the Omega Pro can carry its own there too!

Can't comment on the other.
 
Pick the handle you like the best because the knot is the same. Great brushes regardless of price and once you get use to it you realize it's not that big.
 
i like the 10098, the knot is aewsome... even if others think it's a bit big

but i wish it was a bit heavier... i've thought about cutting off the base and making something similar to the 20102, but with a 10098 look, the 20102 is apparently NOT heavier by 1 gram. maybe i'd use a heavier wood like lignum vitae or ebony... no one seems to opine about the lack of weight so maybe i am just alone in that thought... forever alone...
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I thought the 48 had more loft than the 49, but I could be wrong. I have the 49 and it is a very good brush. But my favorite Omega right now is my 10005.
 
For a boar brush, the 49 is not that big. I find it to be just about the perfect size, again, for a boar brush.. I prefer Silvertip badger to boar brushes but bought the 49 recently to give boar another shot. The 98 is a great looking brush...I only got the 49 over it because the 49 was cheaper and I thought the smaller handle would be better for face lathering. I think the 98 is designed mainly for professional barbers in Italy. Also, the natural colored hair in the 49 and 98 is a quite a bit softer out of the box than the treated, banded boar hair that Omega uses in some of their smaller boar brushes. Still plenty of backbone to tear through soap though.
 
I have all 3 and the 49 is my favorite. The 49 is still my favorite brush I own. Out of all the Semogues, Simpsons, Rooneys, and everything I've owned, I still test out a cream or soap for the first time with the 49 because I know I can make it do what I want. The 48 is huge. I got one last week in the mail and am still breaking it in, but it performs much like the 49 (just a bit floppier). I love my Omegas (have a 48,49,98,66, and a 77 on the way).
 
I have all three as well and all are worth the ownership. For the price they are offered at, you should (at least in the long run) own both (meaning the 98 and the 49.) The 48 is a tad larger than the 49 and in my personal opinion the handle could be a bit more heavier for even better balance.
 
used the 10098 last night, pretty awesome brush and maybe i am giving too much grief on the weight, it's not really light, but it feels like it could use a bit more heft. curiosity got the best of me i easily pulled apart the handle of the 10098. i don't know the technical term for how it holds together, but i can fill this with something and easily stick it back together.
 
used the 10098 last night, pretty awesome brush and maybe i am giving too much grief on the weight, it's not really light, but it feels like it could use a bit more heft. curiosity got the best of me i easily pulled apart the handle of the 10098. i don't know the technical term for how it holds together, but i can fill this with something and easily stick it back together.

Darn that curiosity thang!! I haven't been bothered about the weight of my 98 - until your comments got stuck in my head!! I decided to take a peek at taking apart the handle and notice that the bottom section turns easily within the top half, but it doesn't really seem to unscrew or pull apart.

What did you do to get them apart?? Did they go back together as good as new or....?? Did you try adding anything for weight??

I have the oddest suspicion that I am going to trash my favorite brush messing around this way!!! :online2long:
 
used the 10098 last night, pretty awesome brush and maybe i am giving too much grief on the weight, it's not really light, but it feels like it could use a bit more heft. curiosity got the best of me i easily pulled apart the handle of the 10098. i don't know the technical term for how it holds together, but i can fill this with something and easily stick it back together.

Nine year down, the suspense is still killing me.

I just ordered the 20102 because I couldn’t decide between the 48 and th 98 and already bought the 11126 last week, and using my 66 with much delight this far. Am thinking of making a teak wood handle for my 66 coz it’s handle is wearing off slowly
 
I was making the choice myself between the different large Omegas about a month ago. I went with the 20102 since I liked the look of the partial wood handle. It is an absolutely fantastic brush in every sense. I don't much care for Badger knots larger than 24mm, but the big boars are the way to go, imo. Highly recommend this particular model, but haven't directly compared it to the two you're considering.
 
Darn that curiosity thang!! I haven't been bothered about the weight of my 98 - until your comments got stuck in my head!! I decided to take a peek at taking apart the handle and notice that the bottom section turns easily within the top half, but it doesn't really seem to unscrew or pull apart.

What did you do to get them apart?? Did they go back together as good as new or....?? Did you try adding anything for weight??

I have the oddest suspicion that I am going to trash my favorite brush messing around this way!!! :online2long:

Well, maybe yours is different from mine, but I just broke it like a breadstick. It popped apart, and when I was finished examining it, I popped it back together the same way.
 
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